New Platinum Drug?

[julesTO]

Just came across this article and wanted to share:

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/247863.php

Do any of the research experts have a perspective on this? Sounds promising.

[CancerSux]

Thanks for the link, Jules! I've downloaded the article and I will read it tonight (after I make a pharmacology test that includes them knowing about the other platinums ).

T

[Fed]

Oh man, I would incorporate this compound into your exam. I have a soft spot for transition metal chemistry.

[CancerSux]

Hahaha, Fed ... you are such a chemist!

This is the only platinum question I have, let's see if you can get it right:

Which of the following is a good combination of drugs, as determined by following the governing guidelines of chemotherapy combinations (note: assume they have efficacy in the target cancer)?
a. Bleomycin, paclitaxel, and vinblastine
b. Cisplatin, oxaliplatin, and gemcitabine
c. Mercaptopurine, 6-TG, vinblastine
d. Bleomycin, paclitaxel, fluorouracil
e. None of the above

(and ugh, can I say how much I don't like squeezing a full semester of pharmacology into 4 weeks for a remediation? And I only have to deal with 1/2 of it ...)

[Fed]

This is the only platinum question I have, let's see if you can get it right:

Which of the following is a good combination of drugs, as determined by following the governing guidelines of chemotherapy combinations (note: assume they have efficacy in the target cancer)?
a. Bleomycin, paclitaxel, and vinblastine
b. Cisplatin, oxaliplatin, and gemcitabine
c. Mercaptopurine, 6-TG, vinblastine
d. Bleomycin, paclitaxel, fluorouracil
e. None of the above

Let's see...
a. Paclitaxel stabilizes microtubules and vinblastine inhibits their formation. For all intents and purposes, these are opposite actions. Combination makes no sense.
b. Two platinum drugs at the same time sounds redundant, so no go with this one.
c. Mercaptopurine and 6-TG have a similar mode of action. Redundant.
d. All of these work differently: bleo whacks DNA via a Fe dependent mechanism catalyzed by O2, paclitaxel see (a) above, and fluorouracil inhibits thymidylate synthase. Since this is the most "complementary" mix, I pick d.

(and ugh, can I say how much I don't like squeezing a full semester of pharmacology into 4 weeks for a remediation? And I only have to deal with 1/2 of it ...)

When I was in grad school I took a 4-week crash course in immunology. Not worthwhile to crunch a semester's worth of work into 4 weeks.

[CancerSux]

I pick d.

Ding, ding, ding! And the prize goes to Fed (as it should)

When I was in grad school I took a 4-week crash course in immunology. Not worthwhile to crunch a semester's worth of work into 4 weeks.

These are 4 PharmD students who are re-taking a semester's worth of material in 4 weeks in order to better their understanding/grade and be allowed to advance into their clinical year. It is a new remediation policy the school is trying (if one class makes the difference between a student advancing or repeating a whole year, then they are allowed to repeat the course in the summer), but they haven't worked out the policy very well yet.

As for the article, Jules - it is an exciting molecule! When I read the paper, what actually jumped out to me the most was the activity in NTera testicular cancer cells (that is a chorio cell line, right Fed?) with a log-greater activity than any other type of cancer cell line, and 4-fold greater activity than cisplatin. This compound is in the WAY early stages (still needs mouse efficacy data), but really promising. I'm interested (and may contact them) to see if it is active in general platinum-resistant TC cells since it works via a new mechanism. Thanks for pointing out the paper!

T

[Fed]

When I read the paper, what actually jumped out to me the most was the activity in NTera testicular cancer cells (that is a chorio cell line, right Fed?)

NTERA-2 cells are actually embryonal carcinoma cells. We use them in the lab to study differentiation processes because they are about as close as we want to get to stem cell biology (plus, they have wild type p53 and boatloads of HDMX).

I'm interested (and may contact them) to see if it is active in general platinum-resistant TC cells since it works via a new mechanism.

That would be fascinating given the structure of the compound.

[a.d.]

How long does it usually take from animal testing to clinical use?

[CancerSux]

Hard to make a real estimate because it depends on economics too, but 5-10 years is a safe timeline. As far as I can tell, this agent is in laboratory studies (not animals yet), but it is following the same timeline as a related platinum, picoplatin, which is in clinical trials currently.

[TC Destroyer]

Tracy and Fed, I thought we had made the rule very clear: if you are going to post extremely educational posts involving scientific material, then you need to place a warning before hand!

After reading this thread, I looked up from my monitor and said out loud, "my brain hurts..."

I'm glad you super smart people exist!

[Aegean]

Tracy and Fed, I thought we had made the rule very clear: if you are going to post extremely educational posts involving scientific material, then you need to place a warning before hand!

After reading this thread, I looked up from my monitor and said out loud, "my brain hurts..."

I'm glad you super smart people exist!

Yeah, my brain is spinning too after Fed's explanation... but I agree, I would have chosen D... I always choose D when my head is spinning in front of an exam.... and coincidentally that is also the mark that comes back .... glad to have smart folks(geeks/nerds/squints) aboard too ... they're the coolest.

[CancerSux]

Yeah, my brain is spinning too after Fed's explanation..

I see your challenge, and will step up my brain spinning capabilities

[Aegean]

I see your challenge, and will step up my brain spinning capabilities

Hmm... may be too late... may be my new normal... huh?!? What were we talking about???

[CancerSux]

What were we talking about???

You said Fed's post had your brain spinning, but not mine, so clearly I need to"up" the nerditude.

[Aegean]

You said Fed's post had your brain spinning, but not mine, so clearly I need to"up" the nerditude.D

That's because I understand multiple choice and have a 20% chance of getting it correct just by guessing... I have no friggin' clue what he said. Oh, and you ride a motorcycle, and he doesn't... so you lose some geek/squint points... but then again geek is now the new cool.... oh I am so confused...